How to promote a podcast

Want more listeners for your podcast? Here are ten ways to promote your show and get more listeners for your podcast in 2024. Use these tactics to promote your podcast and grow your audience:

1. Record a trailer for your podcast – this helps you submit it to Apple Podcasts immediately.

2. Build anticipation before you launch – create a "coming soon" site and a waiting list.

3. Submit to podcast search engines – podcast-specific search engines and directories you can submit to.

4. Send a regular email newsletter to your listeners – this can increase downloads by 300%.

5. Cross-promote on other podcasts – find similar podcasts using this trick on Apple Podcasts.

6. Promote in online communities – find forums where your audience hangs out.

7. Share video – publish on YouTube and share short video clips on social media.

8. Go to events – meetups, conferences, online Zoom events.

9. Build a website for your podcast – create a home for your podcast on the web.

10. The big secret – none of these other tactics will work unless you do this.

Record a trailer for your podcast

A movie trailer helps attract an audience for a film. A podcast trailer does the same for your podcast.

Three reasons to publish a podcast trailer before you launch:

1. You need at least one episode published in your feed before you can submit your podcast to Apple, Spotify, etc. A trailer is a perfect "first episode."

2. It can take 5+ days for different directories to review your podcast submission. If you publish a trailer to your feed immediately, you can submit it well before your first official episode.

3. Once you've submitted your podcast to Apple, Spotify, etc., you can start building anticipation for its official launch and send potential listeners the link ahead of time.

Here's an example from our podcast:

Your podcast's teaser should be:

• Short – 30 seconds is good, 5 minutes max.

• Energetic – include clips that give listeners an idea of what your show will contain.

• Shareable – create a teaser that people will want to share: "I can't wait for this show to come out! Subscribed."

Podcast hosts, like Transistor, allow you to choose "Trailer" as an episode type.

Build anticipation before you launch

Your biggest opportunity to promote your podcast happens before you launch your show.

The days, weeks, or months before your first episode drops are fertile ground for building excitement.

Create a "coming soon" web page for your show

If you want to build anticipation and your mailing list simultaneously, create a landing page for your podcast.

This page has two purposes:

1. Build your waiting list. Getting people to sign up with their email addresses will enable you to engage with your audience before your show launches.

2. Subscribe with their podcast app. If you publish a trailer in your RSS feed, folks can subscribe to your podcast in anticipation of your first official episode.

Email your waiting list!

What should you be sending your email list? People want to see behind the scenes! Share your journey as you prepare to launch the podcast. Here are some ideas for email content:

• Show them photos of you recording the show and your studio setup

• If you're recording with guests, snap a photo and send that. (Here's an example from Conan O'Brien)

• Send audio samples from upcoming episodes

• Tell your fans how they can spread the word

Submit to podcast apps and search engines

Before you do anything else, make sure you submit your podcast to Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and other podcast-listening apps.

Additionally, there are some podcast-specific search engines and directories you can submit to:

• Podchaser

• Listen Notes

• Podyssey

• Podcast Index

SEO (search engine optimization) for podcasts

Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Pocket Casts are podcast search engines that help listeners find interesting podcasts. You can use keywords (relevant search terms) to your advantage by including them in your titles and descriptions.

Optimize your show for search in podcast apps

Someone looking for the best podcasts about farming will search "best farming podcasts." 

If your podcast is called "The Farming Podcast," you're more likely to get found than calling your show "Steve Smith – the modern agrarian." 

Ideally, you'll want to include your target keywords in the title of your show. Many podcast apps will only index the podcasts' names (not the descriptions).

Optimize your podcast for Google search results

Your podcast can also appear in regular Google search results.

However, getting your podcast to be indexed by Google is tricky!

First, you’ll need a website for your podcast with an <link> element that points to your RSS feed. (Get a free podcast website here).

Next, you'll also need a sitemap to submit to Google Search Console. A sitemap gives search engines a list of the pages on your site so they can accurately index it. For example saas.transistor.fm/sitemap.xml

Once Google is crawling your site, your podcast's episodes should start appearing in Google searches.

One tip is to use some search optimization tricks YouTubers have discovered in your podcast. Craft your episode titles, the first paragraph of text in your show notes, and your cover art to make it more likely that people will click on your show.

Send a regular email newsletter to your listeners

Do you already have a newsletter list? Tell them about your podcast!

One of our customers, Josh, sent an email to his list about his podcast and increased podcast downloads by 300%.

If you use ConvertKit or MailChimp, you can set up an RSS-to-email campaign that automatically emails your list every time you publish a new episode:

Cross-promote on similar podcasts

You may have noticed podcast networks using this technique: they'll insert a teaser for a different podcast into a popular show's feed. They do this because it works!

You can find shows that have a similar audience to you:

1. Go to Apple Podcasts and search for your show

2. Scroll to the bottom and find the section that says, "Listeners also subscribe to"

Once you've found a podcast that might be a good fit, reach out and ask if they're interested in some cross-promotion. Sometimes, this means doing an episode exchange (you post one of their sample episodes in your feed, and they do the same for you). 

Promote your podcast in online communities

You should also be engaging in communities where your audience hangs out. The purpose here isn't to spam links to your show. Instead, be an active participant on relevant Facebook Groups, forums, and Reddit subreddits. Then, when appropriate, link out to specific shows (but only if they're related to the current topic of conversation!). 

Publish your clips and videos on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram

Sharing a teaser clip of your podcast on social media is a great way to promote your show. Here's an example of one we created for Andy Mineo:

There are several 3rd-party apps you can use to create audiogram clips like this. Once you've created an audiogram, you can share it on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. Here are some apps to try:

• Descript (desktop) – if you're already recording and editing your podcast in Descript, you can easily select text and export awesome audiograms. I think this is the best way to create shareable clips for your podcast.

• Headliner.app (desktop) – this web app allows you to upload a clip, and will create an animated waveform for your audio.

• Reel.so (web) – creates the nicest looking audiogram clips we've seen.

• Wavve (desktop, iOS, Android) – "turn audio clips from your podcast into shareable video highlights for social media and encourage new listeners to download your show."

Go to events, meetups, and conferences

You can also spread the word in person! Go to tradeshows, conferences, and meetups that relate to your audience. When people ask you, "so, what do you do?" you'll have a great opportunity to tell them about your podcast.

There are also virtual events you can go to. For example, on Twitter Spaces you can join a room and engage in conversation.

Build a full website for your podcast

It's not enough to just be listed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. The easiest way for someone to find (and share) your podcast is if you have a website for your show.

Your website should have the following elements:

• A homepage that describes what the show is about, with the ability to listen to an episode.

• Landing pages for each of your episodes, with full show notes.

• An "About" page that describes your show in more detail and introduces the hosts.

• A "Subscribe" page that enables people to easily open your podcast in their favorite app.

You can use this tool to build a free website for your podcast: freepodcastwebsites.com

Examples of podcast websites:

• Full Stack Radio

• FounderQuest

• No Plans to Merge

The big secret: your content has to be compelling

There may be millions of podcasts, but if we're honest, I think we can admit that most podcasts aren't that good. The key to growing a podcast is to make your podcast interesting for your intended audience.

To grow your audience, your will need to make your podcast extraordinary. If most content is mediocre, the way to stand out from the crowd is to make compelling content.

If you want to get started with Transistor, you can sign up here.